(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, a refrigerator which is provided with an air curtain device for preventing the discharge of cool air when the door is open.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A refrigerator maintains foodstuffs in a freezed or refrigerated state in order to prevent the deterioration of the foodstuffs' freshness and taste. The foodstuffs stored in the refrigerator's refrigerating compartment are cooled by cool air generated by the operation of the refrigerating cycle. At the front of the refrigerating compartment is formed an opening to which a door is attached to open and close the refrigerating compartment. Such a conventional refrigerator has a disadvantage in that the cool air in the compartment is released into the air when the door is open, thereby raising the temperature therein. This is caused by the pressure and temperature differences between the inside and outside of the compartment. This problem results in the decreased operating efficiency of the refrigerator and especially the deterioration of the foodstuffs' freshness and taste.
In order to resolve the above disadvantage, there has been disclosed a technique for preventing the discharge of cool air in the compartment by creating an air curtain across the opening of the compartment when the door is open. Examples of this arrangement are JP Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 56-12972 and JP Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 61-89782.
FIG. 12 shows a prior art disclosed in JP Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 56-12972. An air outlet 21 and air inlet 23 are provided at the front opening of the refrigerator body 11, an air passage 25 is provided along the inner walls 13,15,17 to connect the air outlet 21 with the air inlet 23, and a motorized fan 27 is installed in the air passage 25 and operates when the door 19 is open. Thus, when the door 19 is open, the motorized fan 27 operates to circulate cool air through the air passage 25, thereby creating an air curtain 29 over the front opening between the air inlet 21 and the air outlet 23. However, such a prior art for creating an air curtain has a disadvantage in that because it requires the additional motorized fan and air passage, the structure of a refrigerator with the air curtain device is unnecessarily complicated.
FIG. 13 shows another prior art disclosed in JP Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 61-89782. The inside space 5 extends into the machine compartment 4 which is provided at the top of the refrigerator and has a motorized fan 7 therein. Thus, cool air discharged by the motorized fan 7 collides with the inner front side 11 of the extending space 5, and is therefore redirected downward, thereby creating an air curtain over the opening 2.
However, as in the former prior art, this type of air curtain requires an additional motorized fan, thereby complicating the structure. Furthermore, it has another disadvantage in that the air curtain does not function properly because the cool air discharged by the motorized fan is circulated within the entire storage space, thereby forming the air curtain incompletely.